How to Fight Off Diabetes and Heart Disease with a Cup of Walnuts (8 Drool-Worthy Recipes)

August 19, 2015
Cancer Prevention, Healthy Breakfast Recipes, Healthy Dinner Recipes, Healthy Food, Healthy Living, Healthy Lunch Recipes, Healthy Recipes, Healthy Snacks

It’s understandable why walnuts aren’t as popular as their other nutty peers i.e. cashews, peanuts and almonds: they’re not very convenient, they’re high in calories, and are higher in fat. However, walnuts are also high in nutrition. The health benefits these tough nuts provide actually make cracking their shells open really worth it!

Here are 8 healthy recipes to help you maximize your use of walnuts. I’ve even slipped in some health benefits of walnuts along the way! Please be sure to use all organic ingredients wherever applicable.

1. Power-Up Walnut Granola Bar

Whether you want to start your day off right, or need a healthy post-workout meal substitute, this walnut granola bar is for you! Each granola bar is packed with 5.4 grams of dietary fiber, and 7.7 grams of protein!

Contrary to popular belief, walnuts are the perfect weight loss snack. Walnuts keep you fuller longer, allowing you to eat less!

2. Walnut Breakfast Cereal

You’ve been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so it only makes sense that you try this walnut breakfast cereal. Just 100 grams of walnuts will give you more than 20 mmol of antioxidants, which are super effective in fighting heart disease, the number one killer in America!

Just make sure to use raw, unpasteurized milk or authentic almond milk for your cereal!

3. Ginger Pear Energy Bar with Walnuts

These energy bars will give you the midday energy boost you’ve been looking for without weighing you down! Walnuts are a rich source of fiber, antioxidants and unsaturated fatty acids. These nutrients are essential stress fighting properties. So, not only will you get an energy boost, you’ll also have the burden of stress lifted off your shoulders!

4. Maple Walnut Coffee Cakes

Can “cake” be healthy? Yes, especially with walnuts! Just make sure to use coconut flour instead of all-purpose, Himalayan pink salt instead of regular table salt, raw, grass-fed butter, coconut sugar, and plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

Enjoy a maple walnut coffee cake as a midnight snack. Walnuts contain melatonin, a compound that can significantly improve your sleep!

5. Cherry Walnut Biscotti

Few things go together as well as biscottis and coffee do. Walnuts only heighten this pairing! For this recipe, substitute the not-so-healthy ingredients with coconut sugar, extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil, freshly squeezed orange juice, coconut flour and pink salt.

You’ll enjoy this treat even more knowing that those who consume 28 grams of walnuts at least twice a week are 24% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes!

6. Spiced Mayan Chocolate Coated Walnuts

This recipe will fulfill your desire for a quick snack while adding years to your life! That’s because regular consumption of walnuts cuts your risk of dying from cancer by 40% and from cardiovascular diseases by at least 55%!

BONUS FOR PREGNANT WOMEN: Pregnant women who eat a diet rich in fatty acids like the ones that walnuts provide can reduce their babies’ chances of getting food allergies. These spiced mayan chocolate coated walnuts can satisfy your chocolate craving while aiding your baby’s development!

Make sure to use raw, grass-fed, organic butter, coconut sugar, and cacoa powder as substitutes.

7. Chicken With Walnut and Red-Pepper Salsa

A light, refreshing and healthy dinner is just what this recipe is. Of course, it wouldn’t be on this list without the addition of walnuts.

Fun fact: If you are a male, you will be happy to know that 2.5 ounces of walnuts per day can improve semen quality in healthy young men.

8. White-Bean and Walnut Burgers

When the weekend finally comes around, give these meatless, walnut burgers a try! Leave out the foccacia bread, use pink salt instead, and your burgers will be the healthy talk of the town!